Iowa has a great sports history, but most of its residents will point to one game as the state's most significant sporting event - the Cy-Hawk football game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Iowa State Cyclones. 

While the two programs have seen different levels of success over the years, all bets are off when this game takes place. No matter what the point spread is, you can almost guarantee a close result. Each of the last four meetings have been decided by one score, with the last two coming down to a field goal. 

The close games favored Iowa in the late 2010s, but since the turn of the decade, Iowa State has gotten the last laugh. The Cyclones have won three of the last four meetings and seek a third consecutive victory at Kinnick Stadium. 

But that was then. Iowa State has a new head coach and almost an entirely-new roster and is a heavy underdog now. Here are five fast facts about the Cyclones to help you prepare for Saturday's matchup. 

Iowa State head coach Jimmy Rogers may be new to the Power Four level, but he's no stranger to facing Iowa. He previously served as a longtime assistant coach at South Dakota State, his alma mater, where he coordinated a defense that was always consistently at or near the top of the FCS. 

Rogers' defense earned a chance to shine at the highest level many times, but one of their best outings happened to be against Iowa in 2022. The Hawkeyes struggled to move the football that entire season, but the Jackrabbits held Iowa to just 166 total yards and no touchdowns in a 7-3 Hawkeye victory (Iowa had two safeties). 

Matt Campbell took just about every notable player he had with him to Penn State, leaving the cupboard very bare for Rogers and Co. Flash-forward to 2026, and Iowa State has 83 new players on its 126-man roster. The Cyclones are the lone team from a Power Four conference and one of just two in the entire FBS (North Texas) that doesn't have a returning starter on either side of the ball. 

Though Iowa State had to replace most of its roster, it did get a big boost when running back Aiden Flora and kicker Kyle Konrardy decided to return. Both are former walk-ons that have taken big strides in their careers. Flora is a capable back, but he's probably best known for his success in the return game, where he returned a punt for a game-winning touchdown at TCU last year. 

Konrardy is the name Iowa fans will recognize, though. He's beaten the Hawkeyes with a 54-yard field goal in each of the last two meetings and went 14-for-18 last season. 

New head coaches usually implement new schemes, and Iowa State has done exactly that under Rogers. The Cyclones were known for using an unorthodox 3-3-5 defensive scheme under former defensive coordinator Jon Heacock, but they've now switched to the traditional 3-4 (or 4-2-5) defense under new coordinator Jesse Bobbit - Rogers' defensive coordinator for the last three seasons. 

Though the 3-3-5 system was prone to big plays, Iowa struggled to do much of anything against it last season, totaling just 214 yards (83 passing, 131 rushing). Will the Hawkeyes have more success against a base defense in 2026? We'll soon find out. 

Iowa State's first game of the Rogers era was a success, as it trounced Southeast Missouri State by a score of 38-10 on Saturday afternoon. Quarterback Jaylen Raynor had a mixed day through the air (completed just 50% of his passes), but did showcase his rushing ability with a pair of scores. The Cyclone defense was dominant, but it did allow SEMO quarterback Braylen Ragland to complete 17 of his 22 passing attempts for a respectable 142 yards. 

The Redhawks also won the time of possession battle by a substantial amount - holding the football for 36:52 compared to just 23:08 for Iowa State. That could be something to monitor. 

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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]